When The Goin’ Gets Tough, These Muffins Will Save The Day

Last week was horrible for me. Actually, I think it was even worse for my kids. I had so many things to remember every day; all kinds of appointment’s, deadlines, stops by the vet, a car that broke down and a church potluck I had promised to organize. I barely got a few hours of sleep each night – and I felt like I was neglecting my children. What kind of a mother serves Oreos for breakfast? I did not feel good about myself at all.

This week has started off a little easier, and this breakfast muffin recipe has a lot to do with that. On Sunday, I made a big batch of these and now I have at least one thing crossed off my never-ending list of things to do; serve a proper breakfast for the kids.

It may not be ideal, if you consider proper breakfast a thing where you sit down and have a chat with your family for an hour, before everyone heads to school and work. But it is definitely ideal for our family, at this time! No-one has to leave home hungry, and these are actually quite a healthy way to start the day.

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Quick Tip: Make a double batch, store in a resealable bag in the refrigerator and you can easily take breakfast or lunch with you, any day of the week!

How To Make Your Family Happy

The other day I was chatting with my husband on what some of his favorite foods are to eat. I mean, I know most of them but he’s a guy whose tastes seem to be always changing so I thought I’d update my files haha! My husband told me that he had a real hankering for homemade meatballs. I love making meatballs but I hadn’t made them in quite a long time. This recipe is for Italian meatballs and they can be eaten in a variety of ways like in spaghetti or sandwiches.

We opted toe at these meatballs in marinara sauce on hoagie rolls with mozzarella cheese. I had some meatballs leftover so we had them in spaghetti sauce over noodles the following evening.

Don’t you just love it when you can make one meal one night and transform the leftovers into a completely different meal the next? Enjoy!

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Quick Tip: Serve these yummy meatballs in marinara sauce on hoagie buns with mozzarella cheese for an easy supper.

This Soup Will Blow Your Mind!

For some time now I have been trying to find a recipe that would fit all three of my “rules”. Don’t even ask me where I came up with the rules… I guess it’s all this hassle over the holidays that made me want to simplify my cooking as well as my whole life.

Anyway, back to the rules! I wanted a recipe that would be easy to put together and as versatile as possible. You know I don’t want to run to the store every time I am missing one silly ingredient! The other thing was that I wanted the dish to be healthy and light, preferably a little spicy, too. I want to get rid of all the chocolate that somehow got stuck to my waistline during Christmas… And finally, I wanted a budget-friendly recipe – something made with inexpensive or even leftover ingredients.

Ladies and gentlemen, this spicy chicken soup ticked all the boxes! It is so versatile you don’t even need exact amounts for the ingredients. Just adjust according to how much of these things you happen to have in the pantry, or how many people are coming over for dinner!

Coming up with and making new and unique recipes is also fun for me. There have been times that my creations have totally bombed and my family was all like, “Please mom, don’t ever make that disaster of a dish again.” I was sure that this crazy turkey recipe was going to fall under my family’s “disaster” definition, but I was sweetly surprised. Shoot, this recipe surprised my taste buds, too! Crazy Crock Pot Turkey contains anchovies and sun dried tomatoes. Now, I love sun dried maters but anchovies? Nope.

But, instead of being a big baby about the whole thing, I decided to add the littles fishes to my recipe. I am very glad that i did because the flavor was amazing. This slow cooker masterpiece turned out way better than i could have ever imagined.

Recipe and photo courtesy of A Year Of Slow Cooking.

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Quick Tip: Liberally coat your slow cooker in Pam cooking spray to avoid sticking and to create the environment for an easy cleanup.

Are you looking for a new spin on dinner time cuisine? Perhaps you’re tired of feeding your family the same old dishes each week. Many of us have a meal plan calendar that repeats itself every month. Well doll face, it’s time to change things up a bit!

Pesto pasta is a delightfully fresh dinner option that combines al dente pasta with savory herbs. Sun-Dried tomatoes, and hints of garlic. Together, these ingredients create an explosion of flavor within your mouth that you won’t soon forget.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Buzzfeed.

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Quick Tip: Crusty, French bread makes a lovely companion for this pasta dish.

What’s better than enjoying dinner with your family on a Sunday afternoon? Not much, but when you add this fabulous slow cooker Sunday gravy to the mix, you and your family will never haver a boring Sunday lunch again. This recipe combines all the staple Italian ingredients that go into making a terrific sauce we just know you’ll love.

Basil, oregano, and tomatoes cradle fresh Italian sausage with their herby goodness as the meat cooks on low in the Crock Pot for several hours. Take a sniff, can you smell this fabulous meal cooking? My family loves eating Sunday sauce over penne pasta and garlic bread for dipping. How will you eat yours?

Everyone knows how to make a lasagna, but what if we flipped the switch and added some creamy goodness, to the mix?

If you’ve ever been a fan of creamy, cheesy, Chicken Alfredo (please don’t ask me, it’s embarrassing what I would do for some at any moment) than THIS is your dish!

This feeds plenty for a family, and is pretty filling, so think light, if you want to serve up dessert afterwards.

I served this with a side of crusty garlic bread, because I couldn’t resist!

I’d also consider adding a simple side salad (Caesar is the best).

This recipe takes about 25 minutes and serves 6-8 people, so there’s plenty to go around!

My husband added a little bit of bacon to the top, and it was phenomenal (but he can be strange) 😉

I also sprinkled fresh basil all over the top, as I love the aroma it leaves on my hands.

Our friends at The Cookie Rookie had this to say about this recipe:

“Where there’s cheese, there should be basil. That’s another fact. Fresh basil for sure. Oh and tomatoes. It doesn’t matter what type of tomatoes, but they always go well with cheese and basil. Sun-dried tomatoes, roma tomatoes, cherry tomatoes…yep. Any will work. Like I said, it’s just a fact.”